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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSection 4 Law EnforcementSection 4: LAW ENFORCEMENT & COMMUNITY POLICING STRATEGY COPS Office grants must be used to reorient the mission and activities of law enforcement agencies toward the community policing philosophy or enhance their involvement in community policing. The following is the COPS Office definition of community policing that emphasizes the primary components of community partnerships, organizational transformation, and problem solving. Community policing is a philosophy that promotes organizational strategies, which support the systematic use of partnerships and problem -solving techniques, to proactively address the immediate conditions that give rise to public safety issues, such as crime, social disorder, and fear of crime. The COPS Office has completed the development of a comprehensive community policing self- assessment tool for use by law enforcement agencies. Based on this work, we have developed the following list of primary sub -elements of community policing. Please refer to the COPS Office web site (www.cons.us�ov) for further information regarding these sub -elements Community Partnerships: Collaborative partnerships between the law enforcement agency and the individuals and organizations they serve to both develop solutions to problems and increase trust in police. Other Government Agencies Community Members/Groups Non-Profits/Service Providers Private Businesses Media Organizational Transformation: The alignment of organizational management, structure, personnel and information systems to support community partnerships and proactive problem -solving efforts. Agency Management Climate and culture Leadership Labor relations Decision-making Strategic planning Policies Organizational evaluations Transparency Organizational Structure Geographic assignment of officers Despecialization Resources and finances Personnel Recruitment, hiring and selection Personnel supervision/ evaluations Training Information Systems (Technology) Communication/access to data Quality and accuracy of data Problem Solving: The process of engaging in the proactive and systematic examination of identified problems to develop effective responses that are rigorously evaluated. Scanning:ldentifying and prioritizing problems Analysis: Analyzing problems Response: Responding to problems Assessment: Assessing problem -solving initiatives Using the Crime Triangle to focus on immediate conditions (Victim/Offender/Location) COMMUNITY POLICING PLAN COPS grants must be used to initiate or enhance community policing. Please complete the following questions to describe the types of community policing activities that will be initiated or enhanced as a result of COPS funding. You may find more detailed information about community policing at the COPS Office web site (www.cops.usdoi.gov). Community Partnerships The COPS Office is interested in determining if your organization will use the grant to assist in increasing the capacity to develop collaborative partnerships with individual and organizational stakeholders in communities to increase trust and to develop shared solutions to community problems. If awarded funding, my organization will implement or enhance: P1 -Sharing of relevant crime and disorder information with community members. ❑x Yes ❑ No ❑ Not Sure P2 -Seeking input from the community to identify and prioritize neighborhood problems. p Yes ❑ No ❑ Not Sure P3-Engagment with the community in the development of responses to community problems. Z Yes ❑ No ❑ Not Sure P4 -Collaboration with other agencies that deliver public services (e.g., parks and recreation, social services, public health, mental health, code enforcement). 0 Yes ❑ No ❑ Not Sure Please provide specific examples of the types of activities you plan to engage in to enhance community partnerships if awarded grant funding (150 word maximum): rhe Digital Photo Lab will allow for pictures of evidence or individuals, be it criminals or victims, to be available immediately. This will allow for such information to be disseminated among the media, business owners, neighborhood residents, etc. and allow for the community as a whole to be made aware of maybe a robbery suspect at large, a lost child or a missing individual. Additionally, pictures could be taken of code violations, stolen cars, illegal dumping, and have that evidence made available to the proper authorities for compliance. This evidence could also be kept so that if future incidents could be compared with these past crimes, missing reports or violations, and add to an individual's record or assistance. Problem Solving The COPS Office is interested in determining if your organization will use the grant to assist in increasing the capacity to use problem solving. Problem solving is an analytical process for systematically 1) identifying and prioritizing problems, 2) analyzing problems, 3) responding to problems, and 4) evaluating problem -solving initiatives. Problem solving involves an agency -wide commitment to go beyond traditional police responses to crime to proactively address a multitude of problems that adversely affect quality of life. If awarded funding, my organization will implement or enhance: PS1-Integration of problem solving into patrol work. Z Yes ❑ No ❑ Not Sure PS2-Identification and prioritization of crime and disorder problems by examining patterns and trends involving repeat victims, offenders, and locations. p Yes ❑ No ❑ Not Sure PS3-Exploring the underlying factors and conditions that contribute to crime and disorder problems. 0 Yes ❑ No ❑ Not Sure . PS4-Developing tailored responses to crime and disorder problems that address the underlying conditions that contribute to them. ❑x Yes ❑ No ❑ Not Sure Please provide specific examples of the types of activities you plan to engage in to enhance problemsolving activities it awaraeo grant tunaing (iou word maximum): The Digital Photo lab will allow for pictures of evidence or individuals, be it criminals or victims, to be available immediately. This will allow for such information to be disseminated among the media, business owners, neighborhood residents, etc. and allow for the community as a whole to be made aware of maybe a robbery suspect at large, a lost child or a missing individual. Additionally, pictures could be taken of code violations, stolen cars, illegal dumping, and have that evidence made available to the proper authorities for compliance. This evidence could also be kept so that if future incidents could be compared with these past crimes, missing reports or violations, and add to an individual's record or assistance. Organizational Transformation The COPS Office is interested in determining if your organization will use the grant to assist in increasing the capacity to transform organizational environment, organizational structure, personnel, practices, and policies to support the community policing philosophy and community policing activities. If awarded funding, my organization will implement or enhance: OC1-Institutionalization of organizational changes that support the implementation of community policing strategies. ❑x Yes ❑ No ❑ Not Sure OC2-Incorporation of community policing principles into the agency's mission/vision statement and strategic plan 0 Yes ❑ No ❑ Not Sure OC3-Institutionalization of community policing principles into a corresponding set of policies, practices and procedures. 0 Yes ❑ No ❑ Not Sure OC4-Institutionalization of community policing agency -wide. ❑x Yes ❑ No ❑ Not Sure Please provide specific examples of the types of activities you plan to engage in to enhance organizational alignment towards community policing if awarded grant funding (150 word maximum): The City of Miami Police Department (MPD) has embraced the community policing philosophy for more than a decade. The commitment to community policing has brought about changes in the way the City of Miami and the MPD deliver services and solve problems. The philosophy of community and neighboring policing is part of MPD's vision. veteran as well as newly hired officers are immediately exposed to a culture and mindset that focuses on problem solving through attainable and measurable goals and objectives that are driven by crime statistics along with citizen input and concerns. Officers are encouraged to take ownership of their assigned zones and use their proactive patrol time to self initiate crime reduction activities. These officers would handle all police issues and would initiate community outreach efforts to seek out problems that would normally go unreported such as removal of junk vehicles, illegal dumping and abandoned houses. Technology The COPS Office is interested in determining if your organization will use the grant to assist in increasing technological capacity to better prevent and/or respond to crime and disorder incidents. If awarded funding, my organization will implement or enhance: T1- Ensuring that agency staff have proper access to relevant data (e.g., calls for service, incident and arrest data, etc.). Z Yes ❑ No ❑ Not Sure T2- Analysis and understanding of problems in the community. ❑x Yes ❑ No ❑ Not Sure T3- Improvements to the agency's overall efficiency and effectiveness. ❑x Yes ❑ No ❑ Not Sure T4- Providing officers with necessary equipment to better prevent and/or respond to crime and disorder incidents. ❑x Yes ❑ No ❑ Not Sure Please provide specific examples of the types of activities you plan to engage in to enhance alignment of :echnology towards community policing it awaraea grant tundmg ('I 5u wora maximum): Che Digital Photographic Laboratory would greatly assist in the investigatory and prosecutorial efforts of all those involved by having the images of the scene available immediately to them rather than waiting for the processing of film into a developed .iegative form and then awaiting printing onto paper. These upgrades will facilitate :he law enforcement community efforts in the City of Miami, with national crime fighting implications that extend beyond Southern Florida in circumstances where fugitives flee the City to avoid prosecution. The investigators, courts and other law enforcement agencies would be better serviced in a timelier manner when these photographs are necessitated for investigations, further laboratory examination and If your organization receives this COPS grant funding, it should use your responses to these questions as your organization's community policing plan. Your organization may be audited or monitored to ensure that it is initiating or enhancing community policing in accordance with this plan. We understand that your community policing needs may change during the life of your COPS grant (if awarded), and we welcome minor changes to this plan without prior approval. We also recognize that this plan may incorporate a broad range of possible community policing strategies and activities, and that your agency may implement particular community policing strategies from the plan on an as -needed basis throughout the life of the grant. If your agency's community policing plan changes significantly, however, you must submit those changes in writing to the COPS Office for approval. Changes are "significant" if they deviate from the range of possible community policing activities identified and approved in this original community policing plan submitted with your application.